In search of old family haunts

June 7, 2021

Today I was on a quest to visit places, not people. Specifically, I want to pay respects to the neighborhoods where my parents lived before they married and moved to Queens. Along the way was a visit to my sister's walk-up in Chinatown, site of the infamous Bicentennial Mother's Day Birthday Party.

Both my father and sister lived in lower Manhattan while my mother lived for a time on the upper west side. My plan was to walk the High Line south from W30th St to W14th, then follow the Hudson River Park to the World Trade Center. A visit to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum would be followed by a walking tour through Chinatown and SoHo and a subway ride to W67th St.

I left the hotel around ten in search of a good cup of coffee and something to eat. I happened by Gregory’s Coffee where I had a fine flat white accompanied by chai oatmeal with maple syrup. Sufficiently fortified, I wandered through the Chelsea neighborhood before finding a High Line access point at W28th St. Though marked exit only, I climbed the stairs and entered the park without incident.

The High Line is a public park built along an abandoned stretch of an elevated rail line in Chelsea. The tracks were elevated in order to alleviate the not-infrequent problem of trains mowing down pedestrians on the crowded streets. A southern portion of the track was torn down in the 60s, but trains continued to run along a 1.5 mile stretch until 1980, after which the abandoned tracks were overtaken with wildflowers. A group of neighborhood residents, along with the City of New York, worked together to save the rail line for demolition2009 opened the High Line as a “hybrid public space where visitors experience nature, art and design”. In 2011, The High Line was inducted into the Rail Trail Hall of Fame, a remarkable honor given that bicycles are not allowed on The High Line.

The Chelsea Thicket, an area of dense shrubs and trees that provided welcome shade on this scorching day

The High Line ended at W14th St, where I crossed West St to the Hudson River Park, a 4.5-mile-long waterfront park that extends along the Hudson River from 59th St south to Battery Park. Along the way, the park runs through some of the iconic Manhattan neighborhoods, including (from north to south) Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea, the Meatpacking District, Greenwich Village, and Tribeca.

The Hudson River Park grew out of a need to replace a deteriorating West Side Elevated Highway. The original Westway project developed in the early 70's called for construction of a new interstate highway, a part of which would tunnel under the Hudson River. The project was highly controversial, with support changing depending on whomever occupied the Governor’s and Mayor’s office. By 1981, President Reagan and the Army Corps of Engineers had approved the Westway Project; however, in 1982 a federal judge blocked the permit on the grounds that it would be harmful to Hudson River striped bass. Congress denied funds for a critical section of the highway, and the project was abandoned in 1985.

Today, the Hudson River Park comprises 550 acres, second in size only to Central Park. A dedicated bicycling path, part of the Hudson Valley Greenway, traverses along the north side of the park while a pedestrian walkway runs along the south side. In addition to tennis courts, soccer fields, playgrounds, dog parks, the park has incorporated several of the rebuilt piers along the Hudson River that were formerly used for shipping. All told, I think the demise of the Westway project was a victory not only for the Hudson River striped bass but also for all those who live or visit New York City.

The Hudson Valley Greenway runs along the north side of Hudson River Park

Looking south along the Hudson River - Lower Manhattan on the left and Jersey City, NJ on the right

Pier 40, home to athletic fields and trapeze school

I'm wishing I was 3 and could play in the water. Did I mention it was hot?

Arriving at the World Trade Center tired, hot and hungry, I found a nearby deli and wolfed down a salad and cold ginger ale. A construction worker sat down at the next table and I noticed an Iron Workers Union decal on his hard hat. Curious, I asked if he worked “up high”. His affirmative response resulted in awe, as well as several follow-up conversations. They do have a “wind cancel” policy – but only when the winds reach 30 mph!!! His name was Joey and he used to race bicycles – an adventurous soul with a great smile.

Several bike tours of mine have included visits that memorialize the human capacity to terrorize, demean, and destroy their fellow humans. I am always most impacted by the small personal effects and images of victims. It was no different at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, except that the impact was heightened by words – the voices and quotations of victims and their loved ones. The impact was further heightened by the fact that I remember 9/11, and brought to the Memorial all of what I knew/did not know, and what I felt about that day. I did not have time to fully experience the entire Memorial and Museum, but it left a profound impression nonetheless.

Trying to Remember the Color of the Sky on that September Morning, by Spencer Finch - the art installation is composed of 2,983 individual tiles, each with a unique shade of blue

One of the two Memorial reflecting pools, which are located in the exact footprints of the twin towers. The names of the victims of 9/11 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing are etched in the bronze surrounding the pools

It was almost 3 pm and I’d not gotten to the main mission of the day, - visiting my old family haunts. I navigated my way first toward Chinatown and my sister’s former apartment on Chrystie St. From there it was a short walk to Broome St, where my father lived in 1950. Broome Street runs east-west in lower Manhattan, from Bowery to the Holland Tunnel. I don’t know where on Broome St my father lived, and while I doubt that Broome Street in 1950 was a far cry from the tony SoHo district it is today, I can always picture him living in an old warehouse apartment. Unlike my father, my mother told us many times of how she lucked into living at Café des Artistes, located on the upper west side adjacent to Central Park. The Café is renowned for its murals, painted by Howard Chandler Christy, one of the tenants.

Walking through New York's Chinatown district

Chrystie Street walk-up, my sister's old apartment and location of the 1976 rooftop birthday bash. Not much has changed since then

One of Broome Street's many renovated warehouses

The new restaurant, Leopard at des Artistes, retained the original Cafe's Howard Chandler Christy murals

I finished the day by mailing my “New York bag” back home and having two slices and a large coke at NY Pizza Suprema.

Tomorrow the biking begins!

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Kathleen JonesWhat a great tour of Manhattan. In the 1940s my mother worked at the National Biscuit Company building on the High Line. The building was inscribed with NBC on one side, which it was called before they changed to Nabisco. A train used to go right into the building. It’s one of the two buildings the High Line goes through. Did you walk through that part?

Happy cycling tomorrow!
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3 years ago

Susan CarpenterThanks Kathleen
I couldn't remember going thru the building - it's on a north spur of the High Line at 30th St. and I turned the other way - wish I'd known.
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3 years ago